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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lanzones is the Filipino name of Lansium domesticum. Lanzones fruits are ovoid, roundish orbs around five centimeters in diameter, usually found in clusters of two to thirty fruits. Each round fruit is covered by yellowish, thick, leathery skin. Underneath the skin, the fruit is divided into five or six slices of translucent, juicy flesh. The flesh is slightly acidic in taste, although ripe specimens are sweeter. Green seeds are present in around half of the segments. In contrast with the sweet-sour flavor of the fruit's flesh, the seeds are extremely bitter.The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose, saccharose, fructose and glucose.

In the Philippines, the plant is grown mostly on the northern island of Luzon due to the species' narrow range of conditions favorable to its survival. It is also found in abundance on Northern Mindanao particularly in places as Butauan, Cagayan de Oro, and Camiguin. The Camiguin variety is especially sweet and succulent. Now, Camiguin exports lanzones.

I sure do miss lanzones. Even though we don't have a lanzones tree at home, our neighbors has one or two. And of course being neighbors, when their tree bear a lot of fruits, they will surely share it to you. Besides, when it is lanzones season, there is a lot of lanzones in the market which is priced affordably.

Maybe next time we come home to visit Philippines, there will be lanzones! I am looking forward to that...